Moscow ? Russian Orthodox monasteries have begun exploiting modern technology and are now accepting requests for prayers for the living and the dead by e-mail or through mobile phone text messages, a respected Russian daily said Monday.

Izvestia wrote that one such monastery, northern Russia’s Valaam Monastery, charges 150 rubles ($6) for a “sorokoust,” a prayer for the living or the dead by a priest in church each morning for 40 days in a row. The paper specified that the monastery used the WebMoney payment system.

Another monastery in the Vladimir region receives donations via text messages.